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WILLIAM H. RAU 

PHlLADELPMt* 
1890 



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Descriptive Reading 



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PARIS 



ILLUSTRATED BY TWELVE LANTERN 
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WILLIAM H. RAU 

PHILADELPHIA 
1890 



V 



Copyright, iSgo, by IHUiatn H. Rau. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



1. Panorama from Hotel de Ville. 

2. Hotel de Ville. 

3. The Tuilleries. 

4. Hall of Augustus, Louvre. 

5. Column and Place Vendome. 

6. The Madeleine. 

7. Place de la Concorde. 

8. Column of July, Place Bastile. 

9. The Grand Opera House. 

10. Portes St. Martin and St. Denis. 

11. Tomb of Napoleon. 

12. Avenue du Bois de Boulogne. 



PARIS. 



A FEW hours' ride from the port of Havre, and we 
are nearing *' La Belle Paris," the City of Revolu- 
tions, the very heart of France. Of world-wide 
fame alike for its splendor, its palaces, its fashions, 
its arts, its wickedness, its rivers of blood, its cooks, 
and its milliners. 

Paris took its birth in that anciently inhabited 
''island of the City," which has, indeed, the form of 
a cradle, lying about the centre of the present town, 
and embraced between the two channels of the Seine) 
which, dividing at its eastern, meet again at its west- 
ern extremity. Of absorbing interest is the planting 
and successive growths of this wonderful city : the 
mud huts of the aboriginal Parisisii on the little 
island in the Seine; the coming of Caesar ; the build 
ing of the temple to Isis ; the rise of the palace of 
Julian the Apostate on the left bank ; the spread of 
the Merovingian and Carlovingian houses ; the addi- 
tion of monastery to monastery in the meadows and 
on the hill-slopes ; the foundation of Notre Dame ; 
the erection of the University, the Louvre, and the 
Tuilleries in successive reigns ; the enlargement of the 
commercial and baronial north quarter by the aban- 
donment of the walls of Henri Quatre's time ; the 
filling up of a larger circle under Bourbon and Valois 
rule ; the multiplication and growth of fauxbourgs ; 
finally, the throwing down of the outer walls, and the 

(749) 



75° 



PARIS. 



circumvallation of modern Paris by Louis Philippe, 
have all marked epochs in her history and served to 
make it what it is to-day, the most enchanting 
city in the world. It is a puzzle, a labyrinth. Infinite 
in variety, in virtue, in vice, in magnificence, in 
wretchedness ; a city of contrasts. Germans and 
Americans call it the unique city of pleasure ; the 
Prussian admits that it is a paradise ; the Russian 
finds it his educator ; the Turk his puzzle ; the Japan- 
ese a mystery ; the Egyptian a thing to be worshipped. 

1. Panorama from Hotel cle Ville.— On entering 
the city we proceed at once to the Hotel de Ville, 
from the tower of which we have a fine view of the 
entire city, which covers an area of thirty square 
miles, and contains two million and a half inhabitants. 
Upon arriving at the summit we are first of all struck 
by a dazzling confusion of roofs, chimneys, streets, 
bridges, squares, spires, and steeples. All burst upon 
the eye at once — the formally cut gable, the acute- 
angled roofing, the turret at the angles of the walls, 
towers round and bare, and square and decorated, the 
large and the small, the massive and the airy. The 
gaze is for some time utterly bewildered by this 
labyrinth ; but soon we are able to distinguish the 
principal buildings ; right before us is the Island of 
the City, in the midst of which rises the grand old 
pile of Notre Dame ; behind which, where is now a 
public garden, once extended the cloister with its 
Gothic galleries. Beyond is the Palace of Justice, 
with the graceful St. 'Chapelle arising in its midst. 
Beyond we see the gilded, glittering dome of the 
Hotel des Invalides, where reposes the dust of the 



PARIS. 



75 



idol of the people— Napoleon I. Far to our left in 
the Latin quarter we can distinguish the noble facade 
of the Pantheon, in which are entombed many illus- 
trious dead ; and just beyond this we see the don>e of 
the observatory. Numerous other fine buildings can 
be distinguished, all of which combine to make this 
the most splendid and beautiful of modern cities. 
The river, whose waters are rippled by the piers of so 
many bridges and the points of so many islands, is 
wavering in folds of silver. Outside the ramparts the 
view is lost in a great circle of 'fleecy vapors, through 
which are discernible the dim line of the plains and 
the graceful swelling of the heights. 

2. Hotel de Ville. — Descending from our proud 
height we turn to look at the dazzling frontage of the 
Hotel de Ville. It is a magnificent building, in the 
Renaissance style, and was completed in 1882. The 
estimated cost is ten millions of dollars. It is the 
residence of the chief magistrate of the city, called 
the Prefect of the Seine. Besides the state apart- 
ments it contains council rooms, libraries, a suite of 
rooms for the Prefect, and offices for upwards of four 
hundred clerks. It forms a quadrangle, about three 
hundred feet long, and two hundred and fifty feet 
deep, and has three courts. The old Hotel de Ville, 
the finest work of the Renaissance, so interesting for 
its historic memories, was burned to the ground by 
the Republican incendiaries of the Commune. In the 
confusion which followed the capture of Paris by the 
Prussians in 187 1, one armed band after another — the 
offscourings of the people — here proclaimed them- 
selves the Government of France. They stormed the 



75 2 PARIS. 

Hotel de Ville, one rapidly ejecting another, while in 
some instances two or three held different parts at the 
same time. Finally, having garrisoned the building 
with six hundred men, and fortified it, they resisted 
for twelve hours the attacks of the military. But 
finding they must succumb, they fired the buildings 
with their own hands, and perished in the flames. 

The large square in front of the Hotel was the 
usual place of execution down to 1830. Here, besides 
ordinary criminals, Huguenots and heretics were 
tortured, hanged, or burnt, during the sixteenth cen- 
tury. In 1792 the guillotine was used here for the first 
time in the execution of a robber. 

The present Hotel is almost an exact reproduction 
of the old building, and is one of the chief ornaments 
of Paris. 

3. The Tuilleries — In the centre of Paris, on the 
right bank of the Seine, stands the Palace of the 
Tuilleries. On this spot in 1342 stood a building 
called the Hotel des Tuilleries, so named on account 
of its being built in a locality outside of the city 
where there were several tile works. Francis I. 
bought this property as a present to his mother, the 
Duchess of Angouleme. It was afterward chosen 
by Catharine de'Medici as the site of a new palace 
instead of that of Tournelles, and the building was 
accordingly begun in 1 5 66. Originally the palace con- 
sisted of only a square structure, but it was enlarged 
by successive monarchs until it was nearly a quarter 
of a mile in length. The Tuilleries was but little 
used as a royal residence until the time of Napoleon. 
Indeed it was very unfit for the purpose, exposed on 



PARIS. 753 

all sides to public thorougfares, allowing no privacy 
to the inmates and constantly liable to mob attacks. 

After having been five times captured, pillaged and 
sacked by the mob of Paris in as many revolutions, it 
was reserved for the insurgents of 187 1 to surpass 
their predecessors in mad wickedness, by destroying 
by fire this noble edifice, the finest specimen of 
Renaissance architecture in France. While the 
Versailles army was fighting its way into the city, the 
leaders of the Commune decreed the destruction of 
Paris by arson. Combustibles, long before provided, 
were placed throughout the buildings, and petroleum 
was abundantly poured over the floors. It was set on 
fire in several places, and continued burning three 
days and nights, after which recourse was had to 
powder to blow it up. The Pavilion de Flore, next 
the Seine, which is represented in our view, was only 
slightly damaged, and has been restored and con- 
verted into a museum. 

* 

4. Hall of Aug-ustus, Louvre. — No metropolis 
north of the Alps is richer than Paris in fine art col- 
lections, and among these the museums at the Louvre 
stand pre-eminent. This renowned edifice is believed 
to have been a royal residence in the time of Dagobert. 
In 1204 it was used as a prison ; it afterward became 
a library, and Charles II. made it his palace in 1364. 
Successive monarchs enlarged and adorned it. Napo- 
leon I. turned it into a museum, and deposited here 
the finest collection of art treasures in the world. 
The edifice is of grand proportions, the most impor- 
tant, perhaps, in the French capital. So splendid 
are its galleries of paintings and sculpture, and so 



754 PARIS. 

magnificent its museums and antiquities, that it forms 
the Mecca of all artists. On the ground floor are the 
collections of Ancient, Middle Age, Modern and 
Renaissance sculpture, and the Egyptian, Assyrian, 
and Asia Minor museums. On the next floor are the 
picture galleries, which have an aggregate length of 
five furlongs, and contain upwards of two thousand 
works ; on this floor are also the Grecian, Etruscan 
and Egyptian antiquities. The place is a labyrinth, 
and it would take months, even years, to study it in 
detail. All the saloons are beautifully decorated and 
the ceilings exquisitely frescoed. Entering the rooms 
on the ground floor, we pass through gallery after 
gallery filled with gems of antique sculpture, and 
finally we reach the galleries of the Roman Emperors,, 
of which there are no less than six, the last being the 
Hall of Augustus. From the portion of this hall 
that is before us, you can form an idea of the richness 
of the Louvre collection, and the skill with which the 
statuary is grouped. To the left we see the easel of 
some student who is about to sketch one of these 
gems— probably the head of Minerva, just in front. 
All about the galleries of Europe we see students and 
artists copying the. old masters; sometimes hard at 
work ; again criticising each other's efforts, and, at 
another time, merrily chatting together ; but at all 
times entirely unmindful of the curious and interested 
gaze of the casual visitor. 

5. Column and Place Vendome. — Leaving the 
Louvre we proceed along the justly celebrated Rue 
de Rivoli, with its handsome shops under the arcade. 
Soon we reach the Rue de Castiglione, which leads 



PARIS. 755 

to the Place Vendome, a handsome, old-fashioned 
octagonal square. In the centre stands the grand 
column of Vendome, raised by order of Napoleon I. 
in honor of the French armies. It is 135 feet in 
height. The exterior is of bronze covered with bas- 
reliefs, representing the victories of the French armies 
in the German campaign of 1805. The statue of 
Napoleon which originally ornamented the top, was 
made of Russian and Austrian cannons, melted down 
for that purpose. This was taken down by the 
Royalists in 1814, and the metal employed to cast an 
equestrian statue of Henry IV. on the Pont Neuf It 
was replaced by a vnovisiQY fieur-de-lis, surmounted by 
a large white flag. In 183 1 Louis Philippe caused a 
new statue of the Emperor to be put on top of the 
column, cast of the metal guns captured in Algeria. 
On May 16, 1871, the ridiculous communists threw 
down the whole column, but it was rebuilt from the 
fragments in 1874, and no marks of its destruction are 
now evident. 

Formerly visitors entered the door at the base of 
the column and ascended to the platform at the top 
by means of a circular stairway ; but of late there 
have been so many suicides from the top, that visitors 
are no longer admitted. 

6. The Madeleine. — We retrace our steps to the 
Rue de Rivoli, and wandering carelessly along we 
turn into the Rue Royale ; when, looking up, we be- 
hold the severe and imposing architecture of the 
Madeleine. Grand and beautiful it stands before us ; 
the rows of massive columns all around, with their 
Corinthian capitals, and on each side the niches for 



75^ PARIS. 

the saints, rising from amidst the foliage, make the 
great pile one of the finest of modern churches. No 
one can fail to be impressed by its noble severity, its 
perfect grandeur. Commenced in 1764 it .was com- 
pleted only in the reign of Louis_^ Philippe. Work 
upon it was suspended during the Revolution. By 
an imperial decree rendered at Posen in 1806, Napo- 
leon ordered it transformed into a Temple of Victory, 
and that the inscription : '' The Emperor Napoleon to 
the Soldiers of the Grand Army," should be borne on 
the front. In 18 15 Louis XVIII. ordered that it be 
converted into a chapel in honor of Louis XVI. and 
Marie Antoinette. This failing, it was at length com- 
pleted in its present form by Louis Philippe. Glori- 
ous and gorgeous is the interior of the Madeleine. 
The entrance to the nave is beneath a most stately 
arch ; at the end of the nave is another great arch, 
rising, with a vaulted half-dome, over the high altar. 
The pillars supporting the arches are Corinthian, with 
richly sculptured capitals. Wherever gilding might 
adorn the church, it is lavished like sunshine. Beauti- 
ful paintings and fine statuary contribute to produce 
an effect both rich and chaste. 

On Tuesdays and Fridays the famous flower market 
is held in the open spaces round the Madeleine. It is 
one of the prettiest sights in the world, and one of the 
curiosities of Paris. The long rows of booths are 
guarded by white-capped, rosy-cheeked girls, early at 
their post ; and the perfume of the flowers is wafted 
about the church like incense. 

7. Place cle la Concorde. — Where the Rue Royale 
opens towards the Madeleine is located the Place de 



PARIS. 757 

la Concorde, the most brilliant garden in Paris. All 
is verdure and perfume. Stately and beautiful it 
appears with its obelisks, fountains and statues, and 
its delightful views down green avenues to the Louvre 
on the east, and the Arc d'Etoile on the west, and 
toward the magnificent Church of the Madeleine on 
the north, and the Chamber of Deputies on the south. 
Round the square are eight massive female figures in 
stone, typifying the great cities of France. Since the 
city of Strasbourg has ceased to be French, the statue 
representing it has always been draped in mourning. 
In the centre, lonely and impressive, rises the obelisk 
of Luxor, the tallest landmark near. It was given to 
France by Mahomet Ali, and was erected in this spot 
under Louis Philippe in 1836. It is a solid block of 
rose-colored granite, 72 feet in height; the 1600 
figures which are cut in its sides, celebrate the prowess 
of Rameses II., who reigned over Egypt in the four- 
teenth century before Christ. 

The most terrible memories of the Great Revolu- 
tion are concentrated round this spot. Here it was 
that the guillotine was permanently located when 
Paris was given over to the fury of the mob. Here 
were enacted those scenes of horror that sent a shud- 
der through all the civilized world. The ground was 
red with blood of the country's best and noblest. 
Between January, 1793, and May, 1795, there perished 
on this spot 2800 persons. The fountains play, the 
winds blow, and all is lovely and serene, yet we can- 
not but wonder whether this slumbering volcano may 
not again burst forth, and the horrible scenes of the 
Reign of Terror be repeated. 



758 PARIS. 

8. Column of July, Place Bastile. — Far to the 

southwest of this garden spot once stood the Bastile, 
that famous castle-prison that for four centuries and 
a half terrified Paris, and has given name to the quar- 
ter that it frowned upon. A, thousand prints show us 
the Bastile as it was ; consisting of huge towers con- 
nected by massive walls, ten feet thick, pierced with 
narrow slits by which the cells were lighted. The 
demolition of this stronghold was one of the first acts 
of the infuriated mob in 1789. The site of the prison 
is now marked by the Column of July, erected in 
commemoration of those who fell in the Revolution 
of July, 1830, and whose bodies as well as the bodies 
of the combatants of 1848, were here buried. The 
column, which is entirely of bronze, rests on a mas- 
sive white marble base, originally intended by Napo- 
leon to support a gigantic fountain. At the top of the 
column is a huge gilt globe, surmounted by a winged 
figure representing the Genius of Liberty. 

At the left of our picture, at the corner of the 
boulevard, is a newspaper kiosque, one of the most 
characteristic ornaments of the French Capital. A 
Parisian kiosque has nothing oriental but the name. 
It is a little sentry box of glass, just large enough to 
shelter the news-vender from the changeable weather. 
On the little stand in front are tiny heaps of the count- 
less newspapers of the city, and on strings on each 
side are dependent numbers of the chief illustrated 
journals, artistic and comic. The kiosques are scat- 
tered all along the boulevards, and from them the 
Parisian buys his "Figaro" in the morning, and his 
"Temps" at five in the afternoon. In France the 
noisy and pertinaceous newsboy is unknown, the 



PARIS. 



759 



functions of this unstable disseminator of intelligence 
being filled by a staid old dame who sits at the receipt 
of custom in a kiosque. 

9. The Grand Opex*a House. — Leaving the Place 
Bastile we make our way to the most fashionable 
quarter of Paris, which is frequented by foreigners, 
and where is located that magnificent monument to 
music— the Grand Opera House. The cost of the 
site alone, for which nearly 500 houses were de- 
molished, was over two millions of dollars, while 
seven millions was expended on the building. The 
dimensions are enormous — 490 feet by 328 feet — ^and 
ev^ery artifice has been employed to render this build- 
ing the most perfect of its kind in existence. The 
exterior is adorned with marbles, busts of musicians, 
statues of the lyric arts and four sculptured groups. 
It is surmounted by a colossal group of Apollo 
elevating his lyre. An open arcade runs along the 
front, leading to the outer vestibule ; and from the 
inner vestibule a fine marble staircase leads to the 
boxes. Above this the Grand Saloon, 165 feet long ; 
on a level with the first row of boxes, and communi- 
cating with the open loggia. This, the finest feature 
of the building, is gorgeously decorated with sculp- 
tures, colossal mirrors, and paintings of the Muses. 
A box to the left is reserved for the head of the State, 
and occupies the height of the first two tiers. The 
arrangements for ventilating and lighting are of a very 
scientific kind; the building is fireproof, iron sup- 
plying the place of timber in the construction. 

No visitor to Paris misses seeing the exterior or the 
richly furnished interior of this magnificent building. 



760 PARIS. 

And as forty cents is the amount charged simply to 
view the interior during the day, a snug little sum 
must be realized from the curiosity of travelers. 

10. Portes St. Martin and St. Denis. — In one of 

the busiest parts of Paris, on the boulevards of the 
same name, stand the Portes St. Martin and St. Denis. 
The former was erected in 1674 to commemorate the 
achievements of the French, — one of the bas-reliefs 
representing the ** Taking of Besancon, and the 
Triple Alliance," and another the "Taking of Lim- 
bourg, and the defeat of the Germans." The Porte 
St. Denis was erected in recognition of the rapid con- 
quests of Louis XIV. in Germany. Both the arches 
bear the Latin inscription ''Ludovico Magno," both 
are massive in appearance and occupy sites of the 
ancient city gateways. The great archways are black 
with age; majestic, imposing. 

The Porte St. Martin is the terminus of several 
lines of omnibuses. Wishing to go to another part 
of the city you enter the omnibus "bureau," where a 
polite official hands you a card printed red, yellow or 
green, according to the line you wish to take. Your 
billet is numbered, and as the right omnibus rattles 
up, your conductor calls out the numbers in rotation. 
The Paris omnibus is drawn by three horses, and 
carries forty persons ; eighteen inside, eighteen on the 
top, and four on the platform ; there is no crowding, 
no "room for one more" ; the conductor puts up a 
little sign coniplet over the door, and the watcher on 
the pavement for a 'bus sees that there is no hope 
here. When the conductor has collected six cents 
inside, he mounts to the top and demands three cents 



PARIS. 761 

from each passenger. And for this small sum we 
may see the whole of the boulevards; and in no 
other way can you get so satisfactory a bird's-eye 
view of the city of Paris, as from the top of an omni- 
'bus. 

11. Tomb of Napoleon. — In the southern part of 
the city, in the midst of verdant gardens, stands the 
Hotel des Invalides. A noble structure, a refuge for 
old soldiers, who before it was built had to beg their 
bread on the streets. On the terrace in front of the 
building are a number of cannon, trophies taken in 
different campaigns. Passing through the entrance, 
guarded by statues of Mars and Minerva, and along 
the corridors lined with frescoes of the history of 
France, we reach the tomb of Napoleon, placed im- 
mediately under the magnificent gilded dome. Enter- 
ing the vast interior, a huge circular space is seen to 
open ; descending a flight of steps we stand before 
the tomb of the great emperor. The sarcophagus is 
a monolith of Finland granite, given for this purpose 
by the Emperor of Russia, and resting on a pedestal 
of green marble. Inside this block the body lies, 
enveloped in five coffins — of tin, of mahogany, of 
lead, of ivory, and of oak. The inscription on the 
tomb is taken from Napolean's own lips : 

'* I wish my ashes to repose on the banks of the 
Seine, in the midst of the French people whom I 
have loved so well." 

All above and around runs a marble gallery sup- 
ported by twelve pillars, against which stand figures 
of victory. These each face the tomb, and by attitude 
and gesture seem to call upon the dead soldier to 



762 PARIS. 

arise and follow them to fresh conquests. Between 
these are groups of battered French flags. Na- 
poleon's battle-flags were burned the night before the 
allied armies entered Paris, so that none now remain. 

In a niche of black marble in the crypt, is a statue, 
of Napoleon as emperor, dressed in his imperial robes. 
On an antique altar before this statue lie the keys of 
the coffin in which the Emperor's remains were placed 
at St. Helena, a crown of gold offered him by the 
city of Cherbourg, and the sword he carried at 
Austerlitz. 

12. Avenue clu Bois fie Boulog-ne. — Of all the 

charming thorougfares the Avenue du Bois de 
Boulogne is the favorite drive of the Parisians. And 
as we ride down the Champs Elysees, past the Arc 
de Triomphe, how beautiful is Paris ! All is light, 
gayety, movement. For miles the wide and pleasant 
street stretches away, branching off at places into side 
avenues. Finely-planted and well-trimmed growths 
of trees line the walks. There are mimic lakes, 
grottos, waterfalls and fountains, with bright flower 
gardens to gratify a love of color. Afternoons and 
evenings one may here meet the whole world. We 
see the elite of Paris and its guests, in brilliant equi- 
pages and elegant costumes passing and repassing 
each other. The costermonger will go in his little 
cart, and take his wife and mother-in-law ; Madamoi- 
selle Frou-Frou will ride in her carriage by herself; 
the grocer will hire a cab for a couple of hours and 
drive backwards and forwards. Madame the Countess 
will send her coach, and is represented by her poodle, 
who lies snugly on a cushion on the seat. You may 



PARIS. 763 

meet hosts of German princes ; crowds of gloomy- 
looking and extravagant Spaniards ; tall and genial 
Russians, talking every language save their own ; 
swarms of English, sneering at every foreign custom, 
and numbers of Americans, may be seen in carriages 
or on foot. People loiter along the walk, or com- 
fortably seated watch the gay equipages and high 
stepping horses. 

As we watch the endless stream of carriages we 
cannot but think what myriads of dukes and marquises, 
counts and barons, knights and squires, and men at 
arms have followed royal carriages along this fateful 
highway generation after generation. What leaders 
of fashion ! What leaders of armies ! What syco- 
phants, parasites, court favorites, bustling pages, 
statesmen and poets, men of science, sculptors, archi- 
tects and painters, army contractors, field marshals, 
gamblers of all sorts, abbes and cures, cardinals and 
priests and nuns! Madame de Maintenon and 
Madame de Pompador, Richelieu, and Mazarine, 
Racine and Voltaire ; sages, saints, and fools ; bare- 
footed friars and the Cent Garde around the carriage 
of Bonaparte; Pascal, Lavoisier, Franklin; Madame 
Roland, Marat, Danton and Robespierre— all the 
names of the last three centuries have hurried or 
loitered, jested or sighed, along this magnificient 
thoroughfare. 



,!7,f,?,[if^RY OF CONGRESS 



029 955 313 9 



